Grover Cleveland March 18, 1837 Caldwell, New Jersey- June 24, 1908 Princeton, New Jersey Political Party: Democrat Terms: Two nonconsecutive terms, 1885-1889 and 1893-1897 Vice President: First term (1885-1889)- Thomas Andrews Hendricks (November 1885)- John Sherman Second term (1893-1897)- Adlai Ewing Stevenson Analysis:
When Grover Cleveland came into office as president, economy was a main issue for the nation. The controversy over gold and silver was being disputed all over and the question was which coinage to use. With silver there was a higher quantity of coinage but it was cheaper, the south and west wanted silver because they were poorer, but the north wanted gold for their rich industrial economy. America was becoming more advanced with technology and the workforce. Industries and manufacturing businesses were being established and cities were created and growing rapidly, but only in the north and east. The southern and western parts of America were having trouble competing with the northeastern region on the nation. With the rich class in the north and only progressing forward, it was leading the country and modernizing the most.
Continuing on with the economic issues, tariffs were a big topic that was much discussed during this time. The republicans wished for a protective tariff because it was bringing in so much revenue to the government, but the democrats wanted the tariff reduced because the money was giving the government a surplus. Although the government needed a higher income of revenue, too much would overpower the government and danger the nation.
Thesis:
President Grover Cleveland served two separate terms with only one term served between his two which gave him difficulty dealing with two different issues in office. During his first term he dealt with surplus of the government and the arguments over coinage. He favored the gold coinage which, at the time dealing with protective tariffs, wasn’t a favorable selection for the middle to lower classes of the nation. Having gold over silver would increase the rich and increase the poor. It only would have given the government more money which was not needed at the time. Dealing with many bills thrown at him, the government was issued with the requirement of silver coinage. Along with coinage, protective tariffs were a big problem as well. The government was gaining revenue from the protective tariffs which angered the south and west and favored the industries and government, leading up to surplus.
In President Cleveland’s second term, the panic/depression of 1893 was in occurrence and a major economic downfall that was a high priority to be solved. Cleveland believed it was the free coinage of silver that was shooting down the economy and he immediately called for a meeting with congress to discuss the situation and fix it. He resulted with more gold which eventually became the currency and uplifted the economy. Cleveland deserves a B for his presidency because he dealt with major issues and handled them fairly well along with keeping the nation in power.
Goals:
Because Cleveland served two separate terms, his goals varied with the different time periods and scenarios as president. In his first term, he supported gold and protective tariffs because that was common way of the economy and he wanted to maintain a stable currency. He fought to keep the gold coinage and stuck with it the whole way even though many silverites were bringing up bills to congress.
In his second term in office, Cleveland’s goal was to lower the tariffs and increase the gold currency after the coinage and currency of silver was on top and lowering the economy. Cleveland worked to bring gold back into power over silver so that the currency in America would increase bringing the nation out of the depression. He also worked towards lowering tariffs so that it would decrease the government surplus but he saw little success with his goal because of the panic and depression. Cleveland wasn’t very accomplished in his goals.
Relationship with Congress:
In Cleveland’s first term the Republicans were the majority party in the Senate, and the Democrats, his own party, were the majority party in the House of Representatives. During his second term, both parties evenly split as majority party in both houses with the Democrats being the majority in his first half of the second term and the Republicans being the majority in the second half. Grover Cleveland had a very well relationship with congress before the surplus and depression during his two terms. In his first term, he favored lowering tariffs to decrease surplus, but with this decision the parties began to divide after not having any disagreements before this. His relationship began to fall after his support of the lowered tariffs.
In his second term, while dealing with the gold and silver controversy, he favored gold which separated the two parties even more and his relationship again lessened with congress. It became more difficult for him to pass bills and tariffs.
Outcomes:
Cleveland’s most positive action and decision making in office was the interaction and annexation of Hawaii. During his first term, he agreed to free trade with Hawaii and stationing there with ports and military bases. By setting up bases in these islands, America was now able to trade, and if needed, fight much more easily with Asian and European nations. In his second term, he opposed the idea of annexing Hawaii, because he was for staying away from control over other nations and independent unions. He supported the focus on inner-America and not to worry so much with foreign control. This was positive due to the fact that this idea would better the nation and help out with foreign relations by not intervening with them. Even though congress overruled him and annexed Hawaii anyways, he had an impact on that idea.
His most negative outcome was with the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. He hoped to fix the situation of the depression by increasing gold and decreasing silver in order to raise the currency because gold was worth more. Cleveland wanted to maintain a stable economy with more gold, but instead it made the situation worse.
The action that would eventually most influence presidents to come would be his decision with the Venezuela-Britain crisis and the boundary disputes. Cleveland stuck with the Monroe Doctrine and the idea of, no nation shall intervene. This action would later influence Roosevelt to work more towards keeping foreign nations out and doing whatever it takes to keep that promise. It led to imperialism in America which was a huge step up and power increase for the nation. It hugely influenced and helped America to maintain a powerful and strong nation.
In conclusion, Grover Cleveland set goals for himself and the nation that were worked hard towards but not achieved like he wanted. Even though his goals were unsuccessful, he was a very influential president for America and the future of our nation. Overall, he deserves a B as president for his determination and hard work in office. Bibliography:
"Grover Cleveland." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland>.
"The Free Automatic Bibliography and Citation Maker." EasyBib. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://easybib.com/>.
Grover Cleveland
March 18, 1837 Caldwell, New Jersey- June 24, 1908 Princeton, New Jersey
Political Party: Democrat
Terms: Two nonconsecutive terms, 1885-1889 and 1893-1897
Vice President: First term (1885-1889)- Thomas Andrews Hendricks
(November 1885)- John Sherman
Second term (1893-1897)- Adlai Ewing Stevenson
Analysis:
When Grover Cleveland came into office as president, economy was a main issue for the nation. The controversy over gold and silver was being disputed all over and the question was which coinage to use. With silver there was a higher quantity of coinage but it was cheaper, the south and west wanted silver because they were poorer, but the north wanted gold for their rich industrial economy. America was becoming more advanced with technology and the workforce. Industries and manufacturing businesses were being established and cities were created and growing rapidly, but only in the north and east. The southern and western parts of America were having trouble competing with the northeastern region on the nation. With the rich class in the north and only progressing forward, it was leading the country and modernizing the most.
Continuing on with the economic issues, tariffs were a big topic that was much discussed during this time. The republicans wished for a protective tariff because it was bringing in so much revenue to the government, but the democrats wanted the tariff reduced because the money was giving the government a surplus. Although the government needed a higher income of revenue, too much would overpower the government and danger the nation.
Thesis:
President Grover Cleveland served two separate terms with only one term served between his two which gave him difficulty dealing with two different issues in office. During his first term he dealt with surplus of the government and the arguments over coinage. He favored the gold coinage which, at the time dealing with protective tariffs, wasn’t a favorable selection for the middle to lower classes of the nation. Having gold over silver would increase the rich and increase the poor. It only would have given the government more money which was not needed at the time. Dealing with many bills thrown at him, the government was issued with the requirement of silver coinage. Along with coinage, protective tariffs were a big problem as well. The government was gaining revenue from the protective tariffs which angered the south and west and favored the industries and government, leading up to surplus.
In President Cleveland’s second term, the panic/depression of 1893 was in occurrence and a major economic downfall that was a high priority to be solved. Cleveland believed it was the free coinage of silver that was shooting down the economy and he immediately called for a meeting with congress to discuss the situation and fix it. He resulted with more gold which eventually became the currency and uplifted the economy. Cleveland deserves a B for his presidency because he dealt with major issues and handled them fairly well along with keeping the nation in power.
Goals:
Because Cleveland served two separate terms, his goals varied with the different time periods and scenarios as president. In his first term, he supported gold and protective tariffs because that was common way of the economy and he wanted to maintain a stable currency. He fought to keep the gold coinage and stuck with it the whole way even though many silverites were bringing up bills to congress.
In his second term in office, Cleveland’s goal was to lower the tariffs and increase the gold currency after the coinage and currency of silver was on top and lowering the economy. Cleveland worked to bring gold back into power over silver so that the currency in America would increase bringing the nation out of the depression. He also worked towards lowering tariffs so that it would decrease the government surplus but he saw little success with his goal because of the panic and depression. Cleveland wasn’t very accomplished in his goals.
Relationship with Congress:
In Cleveland’s first term the Republicans were the majority party in the Senate, and the Democrats, his own party, were the majority party in the House of Representatives. During his second term, both parties evenly split as majority party in both houses with the Democrats being the majority in his first half of the second term and the Republicans being the majority in the second half. Grover Cleveland had a very well relationship with congress before the surplus and depression during his two terms. In his first term, he favored lowering tariffs to decrease surplus, but with this decision the parties began to divide after not having any disagreements before this. His relationship began to fall after his support of the lowered tariffs.
In his second term, while dealing with the gold and silver controversy, he favored gold which separated the two parties even more and his relationship again lessened with congress. It became more difficult for him to pass bills and tariffs.
Outcomes:
Cleveland’s most positive action and decision making in office was the interaction and annexation of Hawaii. During his first term, he agreed to free trade with Hawaii and stationing there with ports and military bases. By setting up bases in these islands, America was now able to trade, and if needed, fight much more easily with Asian and European nations. In his second term, he opposed the idea of annexing Hawaii, because he was for staying away from control over other nations and independent unions. He supported the focus on inner-America and not to worry so much with foreign control. This was positive due to the fact that this idea would better the nation and help out with foreign relations by not intervening with them. Even though congress overruled him and annexed Hawaii anyways, he had an impact on that idea.
His most negative outcome was with the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. He hoped to fix the situation of the depression by increasing gold and decreasing silver in order to raise the currency because gold was worth more. Cleveland wanted to maintain a stable economy with more gold, but instead it made the situation worse.
The action that would eventually most influence presidents to come would be his decision with the Venezuela-Britain crisis and the boundary disputes. Cleveland stuck with the Monroe Doctrine and the idea of, no nation shall intervene. This action would later influence Roosevelt to work more towards keeping foreign nations out and doing whatever it takes to keep that promise. It led to imperialism in America which was a huge step up and power increase for the nation. It hugely influenced and helped America to maintain a powerful and strong nation.
In conclusion, Grover Cleveland set goals for himself and the nation that were worked hard towards but not achieved like he wanted. Even though his goals were unsuccessful, he was a very influential president for America and the future of our nation. Overall, he deserves a B as president for his determination and hard work in office.
Bibliography:
"Grover Cleveland." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland>.
"The Free Automatic Bibliography and Citation Maker." EasyBib. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://easybib.com/>.